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MEL STRIDE IS THE CONSERVATIVE MP FOR CENTRAL DEVON AND HAS BEEN SINCE 2010

In a General Election that is likely to be dominated by Brexit, another critically important issue is the future economic direction of our country. Here as with Brexit (with Labour most likely to deliver remain via a second referendum) the two main parties differ significantly.

The economy also affects everything else - without a strong economy that creates jobs and brings in tax revenues, you can’t invest money in healthcare, education, tackling climate change or any other spending priorities.

Before we look ahead, let’s compare where we are now with 2010. Under the Conservatives, unemployment has more than halved, from 8% under Labour to 3.9% currently. We are now only borrowing £1 for every £34 we spend, compared to borrowing £1 for every £4 spent under Labour in 2010.

Mel Stride

A thousand jobs have been created, on average, every day under the Conservatives and youth unemployment has halved. In 2010 a worker on the National Minimum Wage earned £5.80/hour, which for a 40-hour week meant £12,064 a year.

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The introduction of the National Living Wage by the Conservatives means that this year the same person would now earn £8.21/hour or £17,077 a year - £5,000 more. In 2010 the lowest paid workers paid Income Tax on earnings above £6,475 but now workers don’t start paying Income Tax until they earn £12,500. This has given 32million people a tax cut and taken more than 4million people out of Income Tax altogether.

According to The Resolution Foundation (an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards for those on low to middle incomes) these Conservatives policies have resulted in the proportion of employees on low pay falling below 20% for the first time since since the 1980s. When inflation and the rising cost of living are factored in, the poorest fifth of households have nearly £2,000 more disposable income than they had a decade ago under Labour.

The successful management of our economy has meant we have been able to invest in our public services. For example, NHS spending has increased from £111.7billion in 2010 to £139.3billion and the State Pension, which was worth £102/week for a single person in 2010, topped up to £137/week for the least well off via pension credit, is now £169/week for all pensioners.

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After December 12, either the Conservatives or the Labour Party will be managing our economy. A Conservative Government will support our businesses (in contrast Labour have already promised to increase Corporation Tax from 19% to 26% which will hit businesses hard and impact on jobs) and continue to deliver record investment in areas such as healthcare and education (Devon’s schools will receive a 14% increase in per pupil funding over the next two years).

We will raise the National Living Wage to £10.50 by the end of this Parliament and increase the state pension by £344/year next year.